Shelby Bradley + Kelsey Ackerman | Sports Co-Editors

The Buena Vista University (BVU) football team achieved its first win in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) this season against the Duhawks of Loras College on Oct. 1. The Duhawks and Beavers exchanged the lead three different times until the Beavers ended up on top with a final score of 34-24.

“We played very well the second half all around,” Head Coach Jay Anderson said. “There was a good energy, and we saw things we’ve been working on in practice go right in the game setting. Now it’s time to build off that.”

In the Duhawk game, the team also experienced a lineup change as senior quarterback, Trevor Trunk, was unable to play due to injury. The Beavers started sophomore Cole Miller in the quarterback position and ended up with a record-setting game.

“He played very calm and with confidence. He didn’t try to force anything to happen with his wide receivers, which is what led to his success,” Anderson said.

Miller had 415 passing yards, four touchdown passes, and only 1 interception thrown. Miller also threw 32 completions of the 39 attempts, breaking the school record for the most completions in a single game. The previous school record was held by senior Tory Beger at 31 completions set last year also against Loras.

“It felt great to break a record, but felt even better to get the win with the team,” Miller said.

The Beavers experienced a season-high of 545 yards of total offense with sophomore wide receiver, Charlie Flickinger, standing out with a career-best of 135 yards on seven catches.

The Beavers now look forward to their Homecoming game this Saturday, Oct. 15, against the Norse of Luther College. Both the Beavers and the Norse sit with just one win in the IIAC, and hold similar overall records of 1-4 and 2-3 respectively.

The Beavers haven’t played in two weeks, coming off their bye week last week.

“It’s nice that we’ve had these couple weeks to prepare for a team like Luther. They run a triple offense, which we don’t see in many other teams. Not only have we had more time to prepare, but also time for rest and recovery,” Anderson said.

Not only does Anderson have high expectations for the Beaver Homecoming game, but the players do as well.

“We are looking to take care of business and get another Beaver win. I am hoping to do whatever I can to put the team in that position,” Miller said.

BVU is set to kick off Saturday at 1:00 pm inside J. Leslie Rollins Stadium.

Photo by Dee Friesen